Powder coating questions

[AJC1]

1. is there any speed limit for powder coated bullets like plated or just naked cast? I cant imagine that there is a real limit in a pistol but there may be an upper end in a rifle.

2. Is there any problems with powder coated bullets that were originally designed to have a gas check. There is not a complete base and room left to install the check. Does this cause any issues.

3. Is the BHN of the bullet to be powder coated critical. I would think it would not be due to having a bonded coating you could get away with a little softer without any issue to improve opteration.

I am gearing up to start this process for 45 acp. I have watched a ton of YouTube videos from fortunecookie45lc and a few others and want to prevent the very steep learning curve that big mistakes bring. I picked up a LEE 2 cavity 230 grain cone flat point in the tumble lube design. Looked like a decent choice for running the action as well as accepting powder coat and sizing. I have a rcbs mold for 38 that i will use later that has a grove for gas checks so that answer will have a little while to solve. I picked up three colors of Eastwood powder and have a toaster oven for application. I expect to have to play with the temperature and the mixture so they drop in the 450 range because a light application of PC is supposed to add .002 total. The lower BHN is supposed to shrink more from what i read along with running a hotter pot so they shrink more when they cool.

 

[troy fairweather]

I'd say around 2000fps don't think I've run any faster then that. No need for a gas check when coated. Don't think the hardness makes much difference but should be close to keep the weight the same. I do 400 for 15 minutes I get 2 thou. I will size then pc then size again. The dark color airsoft bbs help make the powder stick.

 

[Englishmn]

Most of my bullets are coated as cast and sized after as needed. I cast a lot of .312 and size to .309 for .30 cal or leave at .312+ for the mosin.
I generally treat them as plated but have ran some linotype ones at jacked speed.

 

[AJC1]

Most of my bullets are coated as cast and sized after as needed. I cast a lot of .312 and size to .309 for .30 cal or leave at .312+ for the mosin.
I generally treat them as plated but have ran some linotype ones at jacked speed.

Eventually i will be casting .312 for a 7.7 jap but thats a bit further down the road. That is one of the ones where speed would be a factor.

 

[forrest r]

Pistol and revolver bullets are 2 completely different animals compared to rifle bullets. You're using pistol bullets so my post will be about pistol bullets.

Too much is made over the "BHN" of a bullet, especially when it comes to cast bullets for the 45acp's, 38spl's, 44spl's, 45lc's, 25,000psi & less loads. I've used nothing but range scrap/berm lead for decades (1980's) to cast bullets with. I make #100 batches at a time and more often then not the end result is a 8/9bhn alloy. The 8/9bhn is air cooled and the same alloy ends up 12/13bhn when water dripped. I've used that alloy for +/- 99% of cast bullet/shooting needs.

Even if you water drop your bullets to make them harder, you will loose some of that hardness when you pc your bullets. The 400* +/- 10 minutes in that toaster oven will soften an alloy. I swage my own jacketed bullets and have in the past taken a hard alloy core and heated them in a 400* oven for 15 minutes to soften them so I wouldn't ruin the swaging dies from using too hard of a lead core. Been doing this long before I ever started pc'ing bullets (90's). Some of the hardness will come back with age hardening after the 400* heat treatment.

You should easily get 2/1000th's + thickness increase when pc'ing bullets. Myself I don't like to size more then 3/1000th's off of a cast bullet at 1 time. Doing 4/1000th's or more tends to distort the bullets base affecting accuracy. As long as the bases look good with your 38 bullets, you don't need a gc until you start getting over 25,000psi with your loads.

I started getting black streaks in the bbl of a 308w when shooting cast/coated bullets in the +/- 2700fps range. 50,000+psi loads didn't affect the pc, the speed did. I simply pc'd the bullets and then put a coat of 45/45/10 on them. I don't think your going to be driving your pistol bullets 2700fps but if you do add a coat of wax over the pc and shoot.

good luck

 

[Havok7416]

The speed limit of a properly coated bullet is in the range of 2,400 to 2,700 FPS (see previous post). The coating is most important on the bottom of a given bullet, although some is needed along the sides as lube. The coating on the sides WILL come off as the bullet engages the rifling. Whether or not the base is cut for a gas check seems to be irrelevant IME.

Certain Eastwood powders (IME) don't stick very well to the bullets. The same is true for Harbor Freight powder coat.

With either .45 or .38 there should be zero issues with properly made coated bullets.

 

[dbmjr1]

I load .30 Carbine with PC'd bullets, and the bore comes out cleaner after shooting, than before.
Many use PC'd bullets in AR-15s.

I'm not sure about the gas checked bullet bases. It has been my experience, in pistol bullets, that the base is the most critical part of the bullet for accuracy.

I do not alloy my bullets particularly hard. 93% pb, 4% Sn, and 3% Sb. I stole this recipe from a famous coated bullet manufacturer near me.

I use a Lee sizing die for my .45 cal bullets after I PC. Makes no difference how thick, or thin your PC is, once you size the bullet, so long as you have adequate coverage to prevent fouling.

 

[Texas10mm]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?184-Coatings-and-Alternatives

More info than you could read in a day.

 

[Eddietruett]

I'm not sure about the gas checked bullet bases. It has been my experience, in pistol bullets, that the base is the most critical part of the bullet for accuracy.


I use a Lee sizing die for my .45 cal bullets after I PC. Makes no difference how thick, or thin your PC is, once you size the bullet, so long as you have adequate coverage to prevent fouling.

I used to be particular about the base of my bullets, but one of the most accurate in several of my guns is a bevel based SWC.